Open Government Partnership Action Plan of Georgia 2018-2019 1 | Page TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction . 3 Action Plan Elaboration Process . 3 Open Government Partnership Forum . 3 Public Consultations . 4 Civil Society Recommendations . 4 Innovations of the Third Action Plan . 5 CHALLENGE I: IMPROVING PUBLIC SERVICES . 6 Commitment 1: Improved public services for all . 6 Commitment 2: Innovative platform for citizen engagement . 8 Commitment 3: Increasing access to public services by introduction of a Unified Authentication System (UAS) . 9 Commitment 4: Innovative platform of economic governance . 11 Commitment 5: Activation of an electronic portal for meeting the Environmental Assessment Code Requirements . 12 CHALLENGE II: INCREASING PUBLIC INTEGRITY . 13 Commitment 6: Strengthening of existing major Anti-Corruption Institutions . 13 Commitment 7: Public monitoring of sustainable development goals (SDGs) . 15 Commitment 8: Development of legislative acts based on citizen engagement and data analysis . 16 Commitment 9: Publication of court decisions on a unified database and creation of a Retrieval system . 17 Commitment 10: Increasing transparency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs . 18 CHALLENGE III: MORE EFFECTIVELY MANAGING PUBLIC RESOURCES . 19 Commitment 11: Increasing citizen participation in the oversight of public finances . 19 Commitment 12: Increasing transparency of the public grant funding system 21 Commitment 13: Electronic innovations for more transparency and efficiency of public procurement . 22 CHALLENGE IV: CREATING SAFER COMMUNITIES . 23 Commitment 14: Development of a housing document and an action plan . 23 CHALLENGE V: INCREASING CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY . 24 Commitment 15: Openness and accountability of state-sharing enterprises . 24 MUNICIPALITIES . 25 Commitment 1: Strengthening transparency and good governance in municipalities. 25 . Commitment 2: Improving the open data collection and publishing process in Akhaltsikhe and Kutaisi municipalities . 27 Commitment 3: Improving full-value engagement and participation of people with disabilities in political and social life in Akhaltsikhe and Kutaisi municipalities . 28 Commitment 4: Improving citizen engagement in budgetary processes in Batumi City by 29 introduction of an institutional mechanism of participatory budgeting . Commitment 5: Your Idea for the Zugdidi Mayor . 30 Commitment 6: Introduction and development of electronic services in Batumi and 31 Rustavi municipalities . Commitment 7: I. Gov. Zugdidi . 32 Commitment 8: Introduction of services assessment and citizen satisfaction level measurement system in Ozurgeti Municipality . 33 Annex . 35 2 | Page Introduction The Government of Georgia considers the openness of governance, its transparency, accountability and engagement of citizens in the decision-making process as vital values for a democratic society and therefore, faithfully continues introducing fundamental principles of the Open Government Partnership (OGP) into the public governance. Georgia was one of the first countries to join OGP in 2011 and has already accomplished several essential reforms in the framework of the previous three Action Plans. In 2014, Georgia became a Steering Committee member of OGP; later in 2016 Georgia became a co-chair country of the Partnership. As a co-chair country, Georgia hosted the Fifth Global Summit of OGP on 17- 19 July, 2018. Representatives from over 70 countries, hundreds of CSOs, international organizations, academic circles and mass media took part in the event. Up to 80 plenary and panel sessions were held. This document is the fourth OGP Action Plan of Georgia. Action Plan Elaboration Process Open Government Georgia’s Action Plan 2018-2019 (hereinafter - the Action Plan) was elaborated by the Open Government Georgia’s Secretariat (the Analytical Department of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia) in close collaboration with civil society, business sector and international organizations in the framework of the Open Government Georgia’s Forum (hereinafter - the Forum). The Secretariat launched its working process in collaboration with the Forum member public agencies, non-governmental and international organizations. The latter submitted the proposals and ideas on the future commitments to the Secretariat that, in their opinion, should have become part of the new Action Plan. Additionally, the Secretariat held individual meetings with the agencies not previously engaged in the activities of the Open Government Georgia. Nongovernmental and international organizations have also submitted their recommendations to the Secretariat. Their ideas have been reflected in the Action Plan in the form of commitments. The USAID project Good Governance Initiative in Georgia (GGI) took an active part and supported the Secretariat in the consultation process. After the consultation meetings, the GGI project submitted recommendations to the Secretariat which were later reflected in the Action Part. Open Government Partnership Forum – National Coordination Mechanism The Forum is a permanent coordination mechanism for Open Government Georgia at the national level. The goals of the Forum, its activities and other procedural issues are reflected in the Forum Terms of Reference developed by the Secretariat together with the Forum members. The composition of the Forum is gradually increasing to better represent the responsible agencies and local and international organizations. As a result of development of the fourth Action Plan, the Forum increased its membership by 8 new members. The Forum is led by co-chairs, one to represent the Government of Georgia and another to represent NGOs. The NGOs jointly nominate their candidate to the Forum to be elected by the Forum. Among other functions, the Forum supports elaboration of the Action Plan, plans and conducts public consultations, 3 | Page monitors and supports the Action Plan implementation, and raises public awareness about the Open Government Partnership. The Forum regularly meets on the premises of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia. Together with regular working meetings, individual meetings and intensive consultations were also arranged between the Secretariat, responsible agencies and civil society. The final draft of the Action Plan was approved on July 13, 2018 by the Forum. Public Consultations According to the OGP regulations, the Forum, with the direct participation of NGOs/CSOs, elaborated the Countrywide Public Consultations Plan: the objective and scope of meetings, as well as responsible persons for holding such meetings from the government and non-government sector have been detailed in the mentioned plan. Public consultations were held in 10 towns and cities of Georgia with the support of USAID Civic Engagement Centers and Community Centers of Public Service Development Agency. Up to 500 stakeholders participated in 13 meetings conducted across the country. Target groups for public consultations included: representatives of local government, media, NGOs, political parties, students, teachers, professors, and other stakeholders. Local media contributed to the processes as well. Not only were they involved in consultations as participants, but they also ensured coverage of the process and disseminating the information about the possibility for citizens’ participation in the process. Recommendations by NGOs/CSOs The Secretariat received recommendations in connection with the NAP commitments was presented from several CSOs. These included: Institute for Development of Freedom of Information (IDFI), Georgian Young Lawyers’ Association (GYLA), Transparency International Georgia (TIG), and Open Society – Georgia Foundation. Recommendations were also submitted to the Secretariat by the USAID and UNDP. In order to share those recommendations, the Secretariat arranged individual meetings with the relevant agencies. As a result, part of the recommendations was reflected in the relevant commitments of the Action Plan. The recommendations and the Action Plan were finally discussed at the extended meeting of the Forum on July 13, 2018. At the same meeting the Forum agreed on the final version of the Action Plan. Overview of the Action Plan The Action Plan consists of 23 commitments of 21 responsible agencies which are in compliance with the OGP principles. The commitments envisaged by the Action Plan meet all the five grand challenges of OGP: Improving Public Services, Increasing Public Integrity, More Effectively Managing Public Resources, Creating Safer Communities, and Increasing Corporate Accountability. The Challenge of Improving Public Services comprises five commitments: - Improved public services for all; - Innovative platform of citizen engagement; - Increasing access to public services through introduction of a unified system of authentication; - Innovative platform of economic governance; 4 | Page - Activation of an electronic portal for meeting the requirements of the Environmental Assessment Code. Five commitments envisaged by the Action Plan are related to Increasing Public Integrity. These are: - Consolidation of the existing main anti-corruption institution; - Public monitoring of sustainable development goals; - Development of legislative acts based on citizen engagement and data analysis; - Publishing court decisions in a unified database and creation of a retrieval system; - Increasing transparency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA). The Challenge More Effectively Managing Public Resources is addressed by three key commitments of